First Annual Canadian Picton Fest Fosters Young Filmmakers & Cinephilia

First Annual Canadian Picton Fest Fosters Young Filmmakers & Cinephilia

It’s time for films by the campfire in Ontario’s Prince Edward County. From July 7 – 10, in Picton, a summer destination town in rural Ontario, Canada, a group of the greater Toronto area’s (and beyond) biggest filmmaking talents will be participating in a film festival and immersive workshop for aspiring young filmmakers.

Among the highlights are a workshop, which will be facilitated by Toronto filmmakers Stephen Dunn (Fan Favorite Award-winning short “Swallowed”) and Pat Mills (“5 Dysfunctional People in a Car”). Screenings at the festival portion of the festivities will include Mike Ott’s “Littlerock,” Daniel Cockburn’s “You Are Here,” ambitious Canadian omnibus doc “The National Parks Project,” and an indieWIRE-sponsored screening of Cameron Yates’s “The Canal Street Madam.”

“We wanted to advance and celebrate cinema as a form of community building,” Picturefest co-directors Peter Knegt and Jennifer MacFarlane – who grew up together in the Picton area – said in a joint statement. “And we can’t think of a more appropriate setting than Prince Edward County. Beyond giving us a picturesque backdrop for the event itself, the artistic community that has been fostered in that region in the past decade is incredible. In the past few months, the response from the community toward the event has been very inspiring. From media artists to animators to puppeteers, Prince Edward County has a cultural currency comparable to a community twenty times its size.

“Thirteen film programs have been curated by a diverse group of individuals and organizations on the basis of their thematic relationship to ideas of community,” they continued. “Ranging from old and new, Canadian and international, documentary and fiction, short and full-length, it’s an eclectic mix of cinema sure to offer something for everyone.”

[Editor’s Note: Peter Knegt is indieWIRE’s Associate Editor]

Below is a list of the film’s screening at the fest, with descriptions provided by the festival.

The Films

Thursday, July 7th “Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday” Directed by Jacques TatiFrance, 1960, 83 min7:30PM – The Regent Theatrecurated by Tilda Swinton & Mark Cousins; screening will be followed by a reception at the wine bar inside The Regent Theatre

Sunday, July 10th Youth and Student Shorts Film Program Various countries, 2010-11, 90min12:00pm – Bloomfield Town Hallco-presented by the Toronto Student Film Festival and the Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival. Intermission in between 2 programs.

Award Winning Short Films From Around The World Various countries, 2010-11, 71min2:15pm – St. Andrew’s Churchco-presented by Ouat Media, North America’s largest short film distributor